


From the End to the Beginning

by deniallisstrong



Series: Ziam Tumblr Drabbles (ifigureditout) [33]
Category: One Direction (Band)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Harry Potter Setting, Bullying, Fetus Direction, Fetus Liam, Fetus Zayn, Fluff, Harry Potter References, Hurt Liam, Insecure Liam, M/M, Meet-Cute, Mirror of Erised, OT5 Friendship, Oblivious Liam, Pining Zayn, Sad Liam, Shy Liam, Tooth-Rotting Fluff
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-08-01
Updated: 2019-08-01
Packaged: 2020-07-28 11:04:03
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,482
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20062978
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/deniallisstrong/pseuds/deniallisstrong
Summary: Peering forward to get a better look, he spots a beautiful, raven-haired lad with a freckle in his sparkling, brown eyes. Somehow (he’s not even sure how it’s possible), he’d missed him before. He looks familiar, in a way--all the boys do--though Liam can’t place him.He quirks his head slightly to the right as he squints, trying to figure out what in the hell is going on.This movement brings the boy in the reflection a bit closer to Liam, and he uses this to his advantage, pressing what looks to be a soft kiss to his cheekbone.Blushing fiercely, Liam’s body betrays him before his mind can catch up. He only turns redder as he realizes, forlornly, that of course he can’t feel the boy’s lips on his skin.(Or, one day, Liam comes across the Mirror of Erised--but that’s not all he finds. Enter Zayn Malik, the raven-haired boy that he sees in the reflection in front of him.)





	From the End to the Beginning

**Author's Note:**

  * Inspired by [Baby Liam Coming Across the Mirror](https://archiveofourown.org/external_works/503224) by horanpayne (with my tags). 

The good thing, Liam thinks--optimistic for a boy whose legs and lungs are about to give out--about always being on the run is that he’s always finding new areas of Hogwarts to explore (and, maybe, hide in).

He eyes the nondescript hallway, the suit of armor that seems just a titch out of place, trying to decide if it really _is_ a section of the castle he hasn’t seen before. He can’t tell for sure--the castle’s full of all sorts of twists and turns, and after a while, they all start to look the same. Either way, he ducks into the room nearest the suit of armor, hoping to take refuge for a bit to give his poor legs a break.

To his delight, his twinge had been right. This _is_ a room he hasn’t been in before, hadn’t even known it existed.

It’s an old classroom, still surrounded by desks and chairs, piled up along the wall. 

But that isn’t what catches Liam’s attention. His eyes fixate, instead, on a large mirror in the center of the room. It isn’t the clawed feet or the gold frame that he focuses on, but rather the words above it. _Erised stra ehru oyt ube cafru oyt on wohsi._

He slowly lets his gaze wander down, expecting to see himself--his curls thrown askew from all the noogies he’s been given today, the bruises on his thin arms starting to smart. 

And he _does_ see all that. But he also sees a whole crowd of people surrounding him, clapping him on the back and smiling at him. Most notably, there are three boys surrounding him.

One short, sassy-looking boy with sideswept, brown hair; another with dyed blonde hair, his smile looking almost as infectious as his personality; and another one, also with sideswept, brown hair, although it’s his dimples that seem to stand out the most. 

He promptly forgets all about Alfie and his gang chasing him, of the way his body almost throbs from exhaustion. 

Instead, he frets on the fact that he doesn’t _feel_ anything, can’t feel the way these people are pressed so close to him. When he turns around, they’re not anywhere--only in the reflection in front of him. He allows himself to look in the mirror again, tears welling up in his eyes at the sight before him. Peering forward to get a better look, he spots a beautiful, raven-haired lad with a freckle in his sparkling, brown eyes. Somehow (he’s not even sure how it’s possible), he’d missed him before. He looks familiar, in a way--all the boys do--though Liam can’t place him.

He quirks his head slightly to the right as he squints, trying to figure out what in the hell is going on.

This movement brings the boy in the reflection a bit closer to Liam, and he uses this to his advantage, pressing what looks to be a soft kiss to his cheekbone.

Blushing fiercely, Liam’s body betrays him before his mind can catch up. He only turns redder as he realizes, forlornly, that of course he can’t feel the boy’s lips on his skin. 

“Do you know what the phrase above the mirror means?”

The voice startles Liam, and he almost jumps backwards, heart pounding in his chest. Whipping his head around to find where the sound had come from, he goes pale at the sight of the same raven hair he’d just seen in the mirror. 

“Sorry?” Liam asks, not even remembering what the lad had said just one moment ago, his thoughts swirling with _don’t let him see, don’t let him see. _

“The phrase?” He points up to the words, the sort of gibberish that Liam hadn’t understood earlier. “It says, ‘I show not your face, but your heart’s desire.’” 

Liam just blinks twice, trying to comprehend too many things at once. “You, uhh, _understand_ that language?” 

The boy just laughs at that, and Liam’s glad to see not even a hint of malice in his eyes, but rather a sort of twinkle. “No, it’s backwards, see?” He points up to the letters again. “Read it from the end to the beginning.”

Immediately, Liam sees it, and he curses himself for being so stupid. “Sorry. As you can tell, I’m not a Ravenclaw.” He gives a small, sheepish smile to the lad in front of him, suddenly noticing the royal blue flourishes on his robes. “Not like you.” 

“Don’t worry,” the lad smiles fondly. “I’m just well-read is all. Read all about the Mirror of Erised in _Hogwarts: A History_.” 

“So…” Liam tries to remember (again) what the mirror’s phrase had been, but he keeps losing his train of thought as soon as he catches the boy’s bright eyes. 

“The mirror… shows what I most desire or something? Is that it?” 

His heart sinks as he says the words aloud. Showing him what he “most desires” doesn’t necessarily give him a solid way to reach that image in the mirror, now does it? 

“That’s it,” the boy nods slowly. “For me, I’m surrounded by all my family and friends, celebrating the best-selling book I’ve just written.” 

“Oh!” Liam replies, trying hard not to sound surprised by this information. True, he didn’t even remember this boy’s name, but he _had_ seen him around before. (He thinks he’s in a few of his classes? Maybe?) Even so, he hadn’t known anything about his interest in writing, not that one normally wears a flashing sign that says _I like to write_ on it. 

Liam knows that this should be the time for him to respond with what he himself sees when he looks in the mirror. Suddenly glancing back nervously at it, he panics as he wonders if Zayn can already see all of Liam’s heart, slashed open in front of him. 

As if reading his mind, Zayn chuckles, “I can’t see yours. You can only see it when you’re looking face-on at it, so you’ll only ever see your own.” 

Liam lets out a low breath of relief at this, though he tries to hide it. He’s tempted not to tell him, to just call it a day and pretend none of this ever happened.

Zayn’s polite enough that he can tell he wouldn’t push it, but he senses the spark of curiosity in the glimmer of his eyes. And who can blame Liam for wanting to be the center of that curiosity, if only for just a moment?

“I… I’m surrounded by loads of friends. Friends that I…” Liam gets suddenly quiet. “Don’t really have.” He clears his throat to stop the newly-forming lump from rising any higher. “They’re supporting me for something, not really sure what.” This much is true. 

He offers a weak smile. “That’s it, that’s all,” he lies with a shallow breath out. Before the other boy has the chance, Liam finds himself going on, as if trying hard to bury his lie. “At my 16thbirthday party this year, no one showed up. Mum bought lots of streamers, even made dinner for everyone... that didn’t come.” Liam shrugs, as if this will push away all the feelings that threaten to burst out of him. “That’s all I’ve ever wanted, to not feel alone.” He looks down at his shoes, his vision blurring.

Frowning, the boy looks at him, seemingly deep in thought. “I can be your friend,” he says softly, and it doesn’t just sound like he’s offering it out of pity. “I’ve always wanted a Gryffindor friend,” he jokes. “Could use some more bravery getting through these halls some days, what with Filch and Peeves and all.” 

Liam nods, the smallest little head movement he can give, and he’s afraid the lad hasn’t noticed until he reaches out his hand to introduce himself. “I’m Zayn. Zayn Malik.” He pauses for a moment, as if trying to decide if he should stop there. “You’re Liam, right? Liam Payne?”

Liam’s eyebrows raise just slightly. He knows his name, but Liam doesn’t know his? “We’re in Potions together. I don’t know if you remember.”

Zayn chuckles at Liam’s surprised expression. “I’m going to take that as a no.” He shakes Liam’s hand before continuing, “I hardly ever talk in that class, so don’t fret. You haven’t missed much.” 

Liam’s head whirs as he tries to piece together how he could not fully remember this gorgeous, whip-smart boy, especially when his subconscious was (apparently) so keen on remembering him. “Snape does tend to distract me quite a lot,” he says apologetically as he starts to put it together himself. “I get terrified in that class. I’m always worried he’s going to take away ten points from Gryffindor if I so much as breathe wrong.” 

“You’re not wrong to have that fear, honestly,” Zayn says seriously as he shrugs. “Sometimes, I’m glad I’m not in Gryffindor for that sole reason.” 

Liam nods numbly, trying to remember how his brain works, how he ever thought before. “Do you… want to study for the upcoming exam together?” 

Zayn grins at that, his whole face lighting up. “Tomorrow at 7 o’clock out by the courtyard?” 

“Sounds perfect,” Liam smiles as he silently wills down his still-racing heart. 

\---

Liam eats dinner in silence. 

Not that this is anything new for him, though even his sometimes friendly-ish-person, Henry, is quiet, choosing to chow down on the greasy drumsticks in front of him. He doesn’t pay Liam any mind, which normally would at least somewhat annoy him. Today, however, he’s too preoccupied in his thoughts to care.

He absently loosens his tie, his fidgety hands needing something to do while his brain continues going at a solid 100 kilometers per hour. 

Calling it “eating dinner” is a stretch. He hardly touches anything, merely forcing a few bites down his dry throat as he frets about seeing Zayn again. Glancing at his watch one more time, he pushes his plate away and marches off, unable to wait any longer.

Right at 7 on the dot, Liam steps out into the courtyard, relieved to see that Zayn is already there--and at his favorite bench, too. This lad has good taste.

“I brought… this,” Liam huffs as he sets the 600-page book down on the bench between them. “Wow, and _I’m_ the Ravenclaw, huh?” Zayn teases with a waggle of his eyebrows. 

“Shut it,” Liam groans, whacking Zayn lightly. 

So, Zayn does. They focus on going through their notes... for about thirty minutes. From there, they keep getting distracted: thinking of ways they could get out of this exam, or how they could get rid of Snape, just long enough to skip the test. 

“Not _hurt_ him, not really. Just, uhh, keep him incapacitated for a few weeks. That’s not too bad, is it?” Zayn asks, batting his eyelashes in such an endearing way that Liam has to force himself to look away.

“Why are you in Ravenclaw again?” Liam jokes when a low, droning voice interrupts him.

“Having… fun, are we?” Snape asks, sounding somehow both bored and entertained. 

At this, Liam realizes with a start just how close he and Zayn have gotten. Zayn must notice, too, because the two of them quickly lean away from each other.

“Just, err…” Liam tries.

“Studying for your exam, sir.” Zayn flashes him the fakest of smiles but Snape doesn’t seem to notice.

“Good. Keep going. I’m not going to take it easy on you 6th years anymore. I hope you know that.”

With a flick of his robe, he’s gone just as quickly as he arrived.

“He took it easy on us _before_?” Liam hisses in horror as soon as he’s out of earshot.

“Apparently,” Zayn sighs with a roll of his eyes.

He drops his gaze to his notes, and then makes a face, turning to Liam instead. 

“After seeing Snape, looking at anything more about potions makes me want to vomit.” 

“Well, we don’t want that,” Liam says, slightly nervously, sensing that the conversation’s about to shift. He doesn’t know what to do with that information.

“No, we don’t,” Zayn says matter-of-factly as he leans closer to Liam once more. 

“Tell me more about you instead.”

Now Liam hasn’t had many friends in his lifetime. But this question doesn’t feel very… friendly?

He’s suddenly all too aware of the fact that he has no one to really ask about this. The idea makes him feel nauseous. Or is that from Zayn?

Either way, he forces himself to talk, starting with his two sisters, his mum and dad, and what it’s been like growing up as a Muggleborn. He finds that the more he talks, the easier it is for him to keep going on. “--And she looked up at us with the maddest look I’ve ever seen. It’s something I still won’t let her live down.”

Liam suddenly breaks eye contact with Zayn as he realizes something is off. He looks around them. “When did it become…” He gulps. “Dark?” His voice comes out a lot more squeaky than he’d intended. 

“Mmm, somewhere in between the story of Ruth’s first sorting hat ceremony and Nicola’s 18th birthday party, I think?”

Liam groans, burying his face in his hands. “Sorry, did I talk too much?”

“No, no, not at all,” Zayn’s quick to reply, and, to be fair, he _does_ look quite fascinated. “I did ask, after all.”

“Okay, that’s true,” Liam mumbles as he bites down on his lip. Hard. “But now I’ve kept us after dark. Surely, I’ll get you in trouble.”

Zayn shrugs. “I knew what I was getting myself into.” He quirks an eyebrow. “Besides, I know a few secret passageways myself. You’re not the only one that goes exploring the castle.” He winks at Liam before he gets up, beckoning Liam to follow.

As he leads them through a maze of halls, he moves so erratically that Liam has half a mind that Zayn is just pulling his leg.

But then he turns the corner and stops suddenly.

Looking around the (quite empty) hallway, he pushes through what looks to be a solid wall. It’s not until they’ve flipped the wall around 180 degrees and made it onto the other side that Liam recognizes it. He spent what felt like ten years in here once to hide from Alfie.

“I’ve been here before!” Liam whispers excitedly once the wall closes behind them.

Zayn opens his mouth to reply, but quickly shuts it when he hears rapidly approaching footsteps. 

“I heard some students over hereee,” the annoyingly sing-song voice rings out.

“Or was it over here?” The voice sounds suddenly much further away, an echo, followed by a cackling. 

Only ten seconds in and Filch seems to have had enough of Peeves already, if his irritated voice gives anything away. “Damn it, Peeves, are there _actually_ any students or did you just pull me away from finishing Mrs. Norris’ bath for no good reason?”

Zayn and Liam look at each other quizzically. Mrs. Norris was given _baths_?

“They were here, I swear it! Broke that vase right over there, too.”

“Hey!” Liam whisper-yelps indignantly, knowing full well that they had done no such thing.

Filch sighs loudly. “All right, all right, I’ll keep looking. Show me exactly where you think they might have been.”

The footsteps seem to travel farther and farther away, and Liam looks at Zayn worriedly. 

“Does Filch know about this passageway, too?” He asks, drawing his eyebrows in as he forces himself not to think too far ahead.

“Dunno,” Zayn whispers, voice barely coming out. “And Peeves could walk through this wall any time he damn well chooses. But we can still try to make it up the passageway before he gets here, just in case.”

Zayn sticks his foot up onto the first stair when he hears Filch’s voice again, coming closer.

His eyes widen, but he continues, moving up a few steps while he waits for Liam to catch up.

All Liam can hear is the pounding of his heart in his ears. 

Until--

“Liam,” Zayn calls back quietly once they’re far enough away from the entrance to at least not be heard.

“Yeah?” His voice sounds shaky. Damn it.

“In case we get expelled, I have something I want to tell you first.”

“If we… what?” Liam cries, the words nearly knocking the breath out of him. He does his best to ignore that part of the sentence. “Sorry.” He tries to play it cool. “Sure, go ahead.”

Zayn’s silent for a moment and Liam thinks he might need to repeat himself when Zayn finally gets out, even quieter than before, “I didn’t actually want to be your friend. _Don’t._” 

Liam’s body hardens, turning stone cold as he lets out a low _oof_ like he’s just been punched in the gut. The second he meets someone he thinks he can finally get along with and… _this_ shit happens? Figures.

Liam’s not quite sure how to respond, can feel himself grow smaller and smaller by the second. He stops in his tracks, not even wanting to follow up the same path as him anymore.

“What?” Liam croaks. He sounds as weak as he feels.

Hearing this, Zayn spins on his heels to catch a glimpse of Liam’s face. It’s scrunched, the hurt evident on his face.

“Let me finish, Liam,” Zayn says gently and he takes one step down, back towards Liam.

Liam doesn’t stop him.

“I didn’t want to be friends with you, because I wanted more.” He huffs. “But I thought, take what you can get, you know?”

Liam can’t feel anything anymore, not even his heartbeat pounding in his hands. “You… liked me just from our one conversation at the mirror.” 

Zayn laughs a little darkly. “_Likes_,” he clarifies. “And a little longer than that. There’s a reason I know your name and what class we have together. I’ve known ever since I transferred here at the beginning of the year, Li.” 

Liam’s heart lifts at the nickname, at the fact that maybe Zayn _isn’t_ a raging arsehole, after all. 

And that, maybe, what the mirror showed him wasn’t actually so out of reach. 

“Oh,” he says slowly, not quite sure what else to do.

Clearing his throat, he allows himself to make eye contact with Zayn, giving him a shy smile. “I haven’t been fully honest, either.”

Zayn raises his eyebrows. “Oh?”

“There was more that I saw that day. In the mirror.” He finds himself pulling at his tie again, feeling like he might choke on thin air at any second.

Zayn brightens at this. “See, I _thought_ so. It seemed like you were hiding something, but I couldn’t figure out what and of course I wasn’t going to say--”

He stops himself when he sees Liam just staring at him. “Sorry, go on.”

“What I said I saw was all true: I had friends around me, all supporting me. But _you_ were there, too. You were in the center, and, well.” Liam’s cheeks flush crimson as he says the words aloud. “And you were giving me a kiss. On the cheek,” he’s quick to add. “And I didn’t know who you were at the time, not really, but I--”

Liam tapers off as Zayn swiftly takes the last few steps down until he’s face to face with Liam, kneeling just slightly to get to his level.

“Like this?” He leans forward, planting a light kiss on the very edge of his cheek.

“Yeah,” Liam beams, his body practically vibrating from the excitement of actually being able to _feel_ it this time. “Like that.”

He doesn’t mention how he could feel the slight shake in Zayn’s body as he got close or how his lips grazed a little bit past his cheek. Because all of that makes it more _real_, doesn’t it?

And it all came from _Zayn_. 

Zayn continues looking down at him, at the-shell shocked expression Liam still wears. 

“Okay, we have all the time in the world for that, Liam, but how about _after_ we know Filch won’t find us out.”

“Fine, fine,” Liam sighs, knowing he’s right.

“Oh, and,” Zayn says nonchalantly as he turns back around to look at Liam one more time. “I saw you, too, in the mirror. You were with my family, and with my Hogwarts family, too--Louis, Niall, and Harry--I’m sure you’ll meet them soon. As you all cheered me on, you were by my side. In fact, I think you were the inspiration for the book.”

He smirks before flipping back around and running up the stairs.

Liam grins, feeling himself inflate at Zayn’s words. He doesn’t think he’s been anyone’s _inspiration_ before. Especially not someone like Zayn Malik.

But, he thinks contentedly as he follows behind him, he could get used to it quite easily.

**Author's Note:**

> Please let me know what you think!! I've had this idea for 3 years now but I recently reread Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone and it felt like time to finally write it! :D <3


End file.
